ves
pressed!"

"Pressed?"

"Took by the crimps, you understand, and pressed to serve King George.
Oh, but it was a rare spree to see them crimps a-laying in wait for
us, and enticing us into their dens, and filling us up with rum till
we nearly bust where we sat, so that they could go and bring the
pressgang down upon us. And us all the time asking nothing better, and
ready to serve of our own accord, only it might ha' looked suspicious,
d'ye see, it being agin natur for a honest seaman to want to go on
board a man-o'-war."

The boatswain began to quiver and roll to and fro with spasms of
inward laughter at the recollection of his strategy.

"And you should ha' seen your cousin's face when he stood all alone on
the deck of the _Fair Maid_, and saw a boatload of us being rowed past
him to the _Tyger_, every man jack of us in irons, and laughing in his
face as we went by! And so that's how it is as I'm in King George's
uniform, and right glad I am to find you in company again. For if ever
I took a fancy to a young feller, I took one to you from the moment I
first clapped eyes on you, and says I to myself, 'I'll make that lad a
tight sailor yet,' I says, and I'd ha' done it, my boy, but for that
scrub of a cousin of yours. And I've taken a blessed fort to-night for
King George; and I'll tell 'em you was with me, and in command of the
party, and they'll put your name in the despatches, and make you an
admiral yet, or my name ain't Muzzy!"

CHAPTER XVI

_A BATTLE IN THE DARK_

With some difficulty I persuaded my zealous friend to change his
intention of ascribing to me the capture of Budge-Budge. It was well I
did so, for Mr. Clive, when he heard the particulars of the affair,
chose to resent the breach of discipline on the part of the sailors
more than he approved of their reckless enterprise. So that old Muzzy,
to his surprise, instead of being rewarded for his achievement, found
himself lucky to get off with nothing worse than a reprimand for his
drunkenness and disobedience to orders.

* * * * *

The next day we marched upon Calcutta.

The ships went before us to clear the way, but they met with no
resistance, all the Indian forces retiring before our advance. In the
affair before Budge-Budge it seems that one of the shots from the guns
had passed close to the turban of Monichund, and this had so terrified
him that he never halted in his retreat till he came to Moorshe